Going abroad? Whether you are travelling on business or going on a holiday, I would suggest that you keep all your valuables in your cabin baggage and certainly not in your check-in baggage. Because, if your checked-in baggage happens to get lost and the airline is unable to trace it, then the compensation that they pay may not be adequate to cover your losses.

Take the case of Sai Leelavathi, decided by the apex consumer court last month. While she demanded nearly Rs two lakh to cover the losses caused to her as a result of the airline losing her baggage during her journey from London to Cairo, the airline offered to pay only US $400, calculated at the rate of US $20 per kilogram of baggage weight (her baggage weighed 20 kg). The apex consumer court expressed its inability to help her in view of the Carriage by Air Act, which limited the liability of a carrier. ( Egypt air vs Smt. Sai Leelavathi, RP no 830 of 2005)

Even though the Consumer Protection Act provides for compensation in cases such as this, the provisions of the Carriage by Air Act, a special law, prevails over the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, which is a general law. However, under the Carriage by Air Act, the limitation of liability will not apply if the consumer proves that the baggage loss was caused on account of “wilful misconduct” of the carrier.

In the case of The Manager, Air India vs India Everbright Shipping and Trading Company, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission looked at the definition of the word “Wilful” in Black’s Law Dictionary and held that in order to escape the limited liability clause, the consumer has to prove that the loss or damage was caused intentionally, knowingly and purposely, without justifiable excuse, as distinguished from an act done carelessly, thoughtlessly or inadvertently (FA no 451 of 1994, decided in 2001).

So, never pack expensive goods in your check-in baggage. If you are transporting some valuable goods which are either heavy or too large to carry as cabin baggage, make a special declaration of its value at the time of handing over the baggage and pay the necessary supplementary charge that may be required.

This way, if the baggage is lost the airline is liable to pay the declared value of the goods. Otherwise, the liability of the carrier is limited to US $20 per kg (in case of domestic flights, it is Rs 450 per kg).